Smart money still puts the trophy in Lamar Jackson’s hands, but the race is suddenly very interesting after a four-turnover performance by the candidate many saw as a “sure thing” entering the season’s final week.

Prior to the Houston game, the trophy essentially belonged to Lamar Jackson. The Louisville signal caller still leads for college football’s premier award, but the OSU-Michigan and Auburn-Alabama games are a little more relevant to the contest given the narrower lead held by Jackson.

Last week, selecting the top four was easy. After only one of those teams managed to win, however, the picture is very muddled. Upset Saturday was unexpected, and there is much left to be decided in the closing weeks of the college football season.

Bizarre. That’s how I viewed the Committee’s decision to place Texas A&M over Washington in the Playoff. That decision was rectified by Mississippi State’s victory over the Aggies. Meanwhile, Louisville and Ohio State put together strong resumes to fill the void should one of the top four stumble.

More than halfway through the season the most interesting Heisman conversation remains “who will earn an invite to New York” as opposed to “who will win the award.” The race remains Lamar Jackson’s to lose.

The Heisman appears to be Lamar Jackson’s to lose with Deshaun Watson and JT Barrett vying for second place. A key matchup takes place this week between Knight and Hurts that could really vault the winner/better performer’s chances with the eyes of the nation on that big game.

Alabama thrived, Ohio State survived, and Clemson limped along this week as three of the top six enjoyed byes. This week, Alabama and Texas A&M compete in a possible battle for a playoff spot while Auburn-Arkansas, LSU-Ole Miss, Louisville-NC State, Wisconsin-Iowa, TCU-West Virginia, and Utah-UCLA offer their fans must-see matchups.

Losses suffered by Houston and Tennessee clear up the playoff picture slightly as four of the top six will face each other. Top contests this week include Alabama at Tennessee, Ole Miss at Arkansas, and Ohio State at Wisconsin.

As with the top 25, there is not much movement at the top of the Heisman list as the first six remain the same. However, there is still a lot of games to be played, and this week’s Louisville-Clemson contest could be the Heisman’s most important match up of the year… at least until Greg Ward gets his turn at facing Lamar Jackson.

This week, conference play begins in earnest. The highest ranked matchup features Michigan State-Wisconsin, but clarity will really begin to take shape with contests in the PAC 12 and SEC. The Big 12, meanwhile, is reeling as it has only one team in the top 25: #18 Baylor.

Lamar Jackson has come out of nowhere to garner the most hype, and he could take the early lead this week. However, he is not the only prospect to play a significant game this weekend. Francois, Barrett, Ward, McCaffrey, Cook, and Kizer each also have contests that are among the more significant on their schedule.